Resource Room
RESOURCES
We’re dedicated to making the law accessible to students and to the public. We not only provide comprehensive student resources and services, we also offer events where members of the Santa Barbara and Ventura communities can learn more about the legal system and its impact on their daily lives.
We understand that our students are juggling a law school education with full-time employment, parenting, or other responsibilities. The Colleges of Law community provides the comprehensive resources and services you need to find a satisfying and manageable balance between school, work, and daily life.
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Throughout your law school experience, our academic counselors and faculty advisors are on-hand to assist with exam preparation, career services, effective writing and study strategies, and more. Learn more
LEARNING RESOURCES
Our easily accessible print and digital resources enhance your understanding of legal principles, help you develop research skills, and improve your exam performance. Learn more
DISABILITY SERVICES
Both the Santa Barbara and Ventura campuses provide ADA services and accessible parking for students with disabilities. Learn more
At The Colleges of Law, our highest priority is the welfare of our students. To ensure that your law school experience is both academically and experientially rewarding, we provide the comprehensive resources and services you need to find a satisfying school/work/life balance.
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
As a student at The Colleges of Law, support for your studies starts with First-Year Orientation and continues through graduation. Our academic advisors and faculty are on-hand throughout your law school experience to assist with exam preparation, career advisement, effective writing and study strategies, and more.
FIRST-YEAR ORIENTATION
First-Year students receive an overview of the essential “how-to’s” of law study, from reading legal opinions and organizing effective study groups to techniques for managing stress. In the first-semester Legal Analysis course, students focus on developing the analytical skills needed for success on law school exams. Throughout the fall and spring semesters, they have access to skill-building workshops, individual counseling, and exam preparation resources.
ACADEMIC ADVISORS
A faculty academic advisor at each campus provides a wealth of assistance to help students make the most of their law school studies.
- One-on-one counseling: Advisors help individual students develop effective strategies for briefing cases, outlining substantive law topics, and taking law school essay exams. This assistance often includes review of students’ outlines and essay exams to help them identify analytical strengths and weaknesses.
- Test topic reviews: Advisors help to outline frequently-tested topics, and students use multiple-choice problems to test their ability to apply the rules to a set of facts.
- Workshops: Depending on students’ needs, advisors will arrange workshops on effective study strategies, including:
- Organizing and memorizing Black Letter Law
- Exam writing
- Using midterm performance to raise final exam performance
FACULTY ADVISEMENT
Because our faculty members are working attorneys, judges, and elected officials, students justifiably consider them a rich resource for advice on academic and professional matters, including internships, bar exam preparation, and career development. It’s not uncommon for alumni to give credit for their professional success to advice they received from professors at The Colleges of Law.
Our faculty members get high marks for accessibility. Because many of our students work during the day, professors make themselves available to meet before class, during breaks, after class, or by phone.
LEARNING RESOURCES
We offer a range of easily-accessible resources to enhance students’ understanding of legal principles, develop their research skills, and improve their exam performance, including:
- Exam Bank, an online collection of prior years’ exams in core courses.
- On-campus libraries housing print and online resources including federal and California cases and statutes, legal encyclopedias, periodicals, treatises, practice guides and other legal references. Each library includes a copier, scanner, and a computer center.
- Westlaw®, a premier online legal database providing access to research resources including federal and state statutes, cases, regulations, law journals, and legal news sources.
DISABILITY SERVICES
Both the Santa Barbara and Ventura campuses are accessible to students with physical disabilities, with handicapped parking next to classrooms and administrative offices.
Disabled students are encouraged to contact our staff to make arrangements for ADA services, including (but not limited to) examination accommodations:
SANTA BARBARA CAMPUS
Christian Winnewisser, Registrar
805.979.9862
VENTURA CAMPUS
805.765.9302
The Colleges of Law host regular forums, guest speakers, and other events to make legal issues more accessible to the general public and to create a bridge between our students and the communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura.
SPEAKER’S SERIES
The community and the Colleges come together for our Speakers’ Series, where judges and attorneys address law-related topics of interest to the public, including career development, civility, and law practice specializations.